We are increasingly seeing research on the popularity of shopping apps, and not just of the price comparison variety. Apps from specific retailers are engaging more shoppers, more often, than any other type.

Shopping apps are the third most popular category of mobile applications, according to Baynote (and others). Only social media and entertainment apps have more users and bigger growth.

Within the shopping category, retailers’ own apps are getting the most use and experiencing the highest rate of growth. This beats out daily deals, online marketplaces and price comparison apps, among others.

Retailers are capturing shoppers attention at a greater rate than deal and price comparison sites, and this infographic shows it to be trend with some legs. Interest in deal apps is declining even as shoppers spend more time with retailers’ own. The same is also true of online activity.

Shoppers are also spending an increasing amount of time using retailers apps. According to Flurry:

Consumer time spent in Retailer Apps has skyrocketed by 525% from December 2011 to December 2012. This growth far exceeds total shopping app growth of 274%, as well as overall app growth of 132%.

This tells us that shoppers aren’t as fickle as some would have us believe. They may be looking for good value and frequenting stores that provide the appearance of value through coupons or loyalty programs (ahem, JCPenney), but they aren’t shopping strictly on price.

Showrooming, in others words, is NOT killing retail. But the digital connections are causing a a disconnect with physical world.

Engaging shoppers in stores is the struggle. Inspiring them to come in and then return is the challenge. That’s the struggle retailers today are facing. Some are taking it on more effectively than others.

Nordstrom with its consistent brand promise, Sephora with its treasure hunt of a store, J Crew with a more carefully curated selection of merchandise that goes beyond its signature brand, UNIQLO with its simplicity, and Target with the rotating designer partnerships all help create excitement in stores.

Shoppers are connected emotionally to their favorite retailers. The furor over changes at JCPenney isn’t just about deals, shoppers feel abandoned by a place they were connected to. Sears shoppers are still holding on, at least in hard lines, all these years into that storied retailer’s decline.

Imagine what could happen if Best Buy gets back on track and manages to engage these loyalists and turn a profit from that $50 billion in sales. Or if JCPenney Goes Pop, and engages the new shoppers it so desperately needs.

Retail matters to shoppers. Even when it’s not a great experience, stores get shopped.

Smart people are working hard at innovating the retail experience today. Imagine what will happen when those innovations are realized.

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Traditional retailers’ ability to recognize the value behind mobile apps can be the first step to overcoming showrooming. I work for Continuum, a global design and innovation consultancy, and my colleague Craig LaRosa wrote a blog post entitled “The Showrooming Scramble.” This post touches on how brick and mortar stores are battling online retailers for a share of customers’ wallets. You can read more here: http://continuuminnovation.com/the-showrooming-scramble/

Enjoyed this on a lot. Traditional retail still very much matters and cannot simply be replaced by online, Amazonian approaches (in my opinion). There is, however, much room for improvement and adoption of technology such as mobile in order for retailers to enhance the in-store feel and experience.